BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Spending Christmas night at a shelter for the homeless wasn't at the top of Derron Jackson's wish list, but he did it anyway.

The warming station at Boutwell Auditorium was the Birmingham police officer's assignment Wednesday, so he did as he was told. Now he's thankful he was there, and wouldn't have it any other way.

What happened that night, said Don Lupo, director of the Mayor's Office of Citizens Assistance, "was a really beautiful thing."

A man was found sleeping on the front steps of the auditorium. They summoned Officer Jackson and a volunteer nurse to help bring the man inside.

He was not homeless, he told them, but he couldn't go home. "He got our attention when he told us that he was hurting,'' Lupo said. "I thought he was in pain, but that was only part of his hurt. I was a little slow to understand that his hurting was not a physical injury - but the officer and the nurse caught on pretty quick - his hurting was deeper than an injury. He was tired, he was hurt, he was homesick. He didn't understand why this was happening to him."

At first he thought Jackson was there to arrest him, the officer said, but he explained he was there to help him. "He started crying,'' Jackson said. "He said he was in pain. He wasn't feeling good about himself."

He expressed suicidal thoughts. The paramedics were called and checked out the man. His blood pressure was high, but not enough to warrant transport. Still, the medics tried to get him to go to the hospital, but he refused.

The medics suggested they give him his own space, a quiet space where he could rest and get food and sleep. The man balked, but Jackson said he would sit with him, all night if needed.

Jackson, 39, took the man off by himself. The 55-year-old man opened up to the officer, telling him he didn't belong at the shelter. He had a steady job and worked every day. For the next two hours he talked, and Jackson listened. "He just wanted to be in a quiet place, and he just wanted to talk to me,'' Jackson said.

Fights over his stepson forced him from his home, he told Jackson. He was ashamed to be in such a situation at his age. "I told him God still puts us through changes," Jackson said. "It will get better."

Jackson told the man of problems he had experienced in his past. "I told him I understood,'' the officer said. "He was real upset about it. He contemplated hurting himself."

He continued to talk, and Jackson continued to listen. He then left him alone for a while to rest.

A short time later, the man came to Jackson and said he decided he would go to the hospital for help. But he said if they tried to keep him, he was coming back to find Jackson. "I haven't heard anything else about it,'' Jackson said. "I don't know how to get in touch with him. I want to know how he's doing."

Jackson, a South Precinct officer, joined the Birmingham force seven years ago. He spent six years with the Bessemer Police Department. He said he's a good listener and, depending on the call, is willing to do just that for the people he serves. "I just see it as part of my job,'' he said.

As for his assignment that night, Jackson said, "I think it was just meant for me to go down there that night."

Lupo said it was extraordinary. "We have really good things that happen every night, but nothing quite like that,'' he said. "Police officers get asked to do so many things that aren't part of the job that you normally think of for a police officer. But what he did was as much to protect and serve as any officer I've ever seen. It was really a special night in someone's life."